Red or white, I would go for powder coat, as it is a lot tougher than paint. However you will need to remove all the bearings and seals first.
That looks... great, I must admit. I think I should take a step back and do the other stuff first: white number board on the tail, carbon heel guards and clutch cover, etc. And if I still want more pop from the wheels, I'll think about changing colors. Is your clutch cover the OEM color? The reason I ask is that my bike is missing a cover completely. I have a spare gold one (from my HyperMotard) but I don't think I have a silver one anywhere.
Original 998S seat. So oem (painted) Looking at your first post, I’d just buy a carbon airbox, install the original Showa front forks with the 4 pad 998S calipers, carbon front mudguard and a red/white tail. The 999 mudguard doesn’t look period correct, which you see quite often with the 999 Öhlins. But like I said it’s all personal.
I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too: this bike appears to be a bitsa, so it's not worth going back to 100% original. But I'm trying to restore the stuff that I can make factory original, or at least a reasonable facsimile. For example, it didn't come with the Showa forks, and I have no intention of buying a set; the tail is clearly aftermarket and I don't want to throw down $500 for an OEM jobbie and then still have to paint it. If it was an S or R bike or some other special edition, I'd be a lot more willing to open up my wallet!
Both wheels Black on the right hand side and both Gold on the left, job jobbed. Not a problem happy to help